The present invention relates generally to the processing of manufactured metallic containers and, more particularly, to a process whereby metallic storage containers are processed to allow foods prepared in accordance with the dietary laws of koshering to be stored and transported while retaining the kosher integrity of the food.
The strict dietary laws by which it is determined that foods are kosher require total abstinence from certain foods, prohibit the mixing of certain types of food on a single plate or at a single meal, and also prescribe the manner in which an animal, in order to be considered kosher, must be raised, butchered, and cooked. For example, according to Mosaic Law, certain foods such as pork products and shrimp are inherently not kosher and cannot be prepared to render them kosher. It is also a requirement of the dietary laws that meat dishes and dairy dishes cannot be consumed together, so that otherwise kosher foods, if improperly combined in a single meal will render the meal non-kosher even though the individual components themselves are prepared according to the laws of kosher.
When a vessel, such as a cooking pot, is used to prepare a meat dish, and must thereafter be used to prepare a dairy dish, the vessel must be cleaned thoroughly enough to remove all vestiges of the previously prepared meat dish, such as by the use of boiling water, steam, or flame drying. To my knowledge, there has been no practical method developed to date to adapt such a koshering process to large-volume containers, such as 55 gallon drums. If, for example, the food to be stored is "dairy" in nature, the presence of any contaminant traceable back to a "meat" origin may destroy the kosher character of the food. In like fashion, any "non-kosher" contaminant may also produce the same result.
Problems can then arise when, after food has been prepared in a kosher manner, it is stored in such a way that the storage vessel becomes a vehicle for contaminants which, while not adulterating the food in a medically harmful sense may still contribute contaminants of a character sufficient to destroy the kosher integrity of the food.
As an example, certain metallic containers, such as cans or drums used for the bulk storage and transportation of foods may, during the manufacturing process, may come in contact with, and be coated with a thin film of oil or grease, the presence of which in an otherwise kosher food may destroy the integrity of the koshering process.
Foods prepared in accordance with the dietary laws are certified as kosher by one trained to observe the entire manufacturing process and determine whether the method of preparing the food and the individual ingredients are consistent with the practice and observance of the dietary laws. In much the same manner, the same determination must be made with respect to the preparation of packaging for the food so prepared.
One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a process whereby the carrying out of the process will render a container fit for the storage and transportation of kosher foods without requiring that each such container be chemically tested or inspected to assure that all contaminants have been removed. It thus becomes unnecessary to determine whether or not the particular adulterant present would render any food in the container non-kosher: It is enough that the process remove all such adulterants, whatever their nature.
There is known as part of the prior art a number of issued U.S. patents which relate to the cleaning and treatment of vessels, although no such reference addresses the particular problems inherent in the koshering of such vessels.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,383,470, issued to Morgan on Aug. 28, 1945 describes methods and apparatus for cleaning and surface coating a glass, metallic, or other support surface to which a reflective layer is to be added. The problem addressed by Morgan is the cleaning of the surface and the maintaining of the surface in a clean condition so that the later-applied reflective coating will not "pit". To accomplish this, Morgan teaches the washing of the surface in question with a mineral acid solution, rinsing the surface with distilled water, treating the surface with a flame such as a gas burner, and exposing the surface to the vapors of a suitable organic liquid to produce a protective film on the cleaned surface. The deposited vapor layer is intended to keep the surface clean until the permanent coating is applied. Morgan also discloses a permanent coating a metallized layer intended to impart light-reflecting capabilities to the finished article. Before applying the permanent coating, the vapor deposited organic coating must first be removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,217 to Henley teaches and describes a continuous process for the removal of oil emulsions from metallic surfaces by washing the surfaces with a mixture of wash water and demulsifier to break up and remove the oil.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,522,093 issued to Wolman on July 28, 1970 teaches the purging and cleaning of the tube surfaces of the tube-and-shell reactors by circulating a cleaning solution through the tubes, purging the tubes with nitrogen, circulating a second solution to passivate clean surfaces and again purging the tubes with nitrogen and retaining nitrogen in the tubes until the tubes are ready for use.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,975 issued to Freud issued on May 12, 1964 teaches yet another passivating technique for the metallic surfaces of reactor tubes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,030,238, issued to Cohn on Apr. 17, 1962 teaches a method for treating metal surfaces involving cleaning the surface to degrease it, rinsing the surface with water and applying a thin residual film on the metal surfaces so cleaned in order to passivate them.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,187 issued to Glazer on Sept. 25, 1979, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,812 issued to Coucher on Aug. 7, 1979 both teach the coating of cylindrical containers with resinous or epoxy-resinous coatings.
The above mentioned patents do not address the problems inherent in the preparation of a container for the storage and transportation of kosher foods and the techniques and process involved would raise other problems in considering the koshering packing of foods. As an example, the temporary passivating of a metallic surface with a substance intended to thereafter have to be removed may raise a question as to whether or not enough of the substance has been removed in order to render the container safe for kosher packaging.
Accordingly, the need exists for a manufacturing process of treatment which may be applied to and used upon metallic food storage containers to assure that kosher foods placed in such containers will contain their kosher character by avoiding contaminants encountered during the manufacture of the container.